Gold biscuits weighing 13.609 kilograms were sold by Arulmigu Samayapuram Mariamman Temple to the Kallazhagar Temple near Madurai to carry out repairs of its gold-plated ‘vimana’.
The gold biscuits were formally handed over to the officials of Kallazhagar Temple, a Divya Desam’, by the authorities of Samayapuram Mariamman Temple, which occupies a prominent position among the temples dedicated to Goddess Shakthi, at a brief function organised on the premises of the shrine near here on Tuesday.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of Samayapuram Temple, V.K.N. Kannappan, Temple Joint Commissioner / Executive Officer B. Barathi and other officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department were present on the occasion.
Samayapuram temple authorities said 136 gold biscuits, each weighing 100 grams, and a gold biscuit weighing 9 grams were sold for Rs. 2.31 crore.
Earlier sales
A few months ago, the Samayapuram Temple authorities sold 11 kilograms of gold to the Pazhamudhircholai Temple, one of the six abodes of Lord Subramanya near Madurai, at a cost of Rs. 1.89 crore. Similarly, gold biscuits weighing 5.4 kilograms were sold to the Kottai Mariamman Temple in Dindigul a couple of months ago. The Tiruchi Vekkaliamman Temple authorities had also purchased three kgs of gold biscuits for making the golden chariot, the authorities said.
The authorities said requests for gold purchase have also come from Sri Sugavaneswarar Temple at Salem and Marudhamalai Murugan Temple in Coimbatore district.
Melted at Mumbai
A senior HR and CE official said gold jewellery offerings to the Samayapuram Temple were sent to the mint at Mumbai where they were melted and converted as gold biscuits. Four-and-a-half to six kilograms of gold jewellery comes as offerings to the temple every month, mostly as ‘Thanga Thirumangalayam’.
The official further said gold biscuits sold to the Kallazhagar Temple were from the 34 kilograms of gold biscuits in possession over and above the stock of 100 kilograms in the bank locker.
